indirect evidence

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablelegal

   Facts that suggest something happened or is true, but only through reasoning, since they do not prove it by themselves.

   Grammar: Uncountable: some indirect evidence, not an indirect evidence. Use a piece of for one item.

   Patterns

   • indirect evidence of something
   • indirect evidence that something happened

   The muddy footprints were indirect evidence that someone had entered the house.

   The jury heard only indirect evidence linking him to the robbery.

   A sudden rise in sales is indirect evidence that the new advertisement is working.

2. 2noununcountabletechnical

   In science, information gathered from the effects of something rather than from seeing the thing itself.

   Grammar: Often followed by for: indirect evidence for dark matter.

   Patterns

   • indirect evidence for something

   Astronomers have indirect evidence for planets, based on how their stars wobble.

   The tracks in the mud gave indirect evidence of a large animal.

   Fossils provide indirect evidence of what ancient climates were like.

Common combinations

indirect evidence of

The cracks are indirect evidence of ground movement.

rely on indirect evidence

The detective had to rely on indirect evidence.

strong indirect evidence

Several readings give strong indirect evidence of a leak.

a piece of indirect evidence

The receipt was one piece of indirect evidence.

indirect evidence suggests

Indirect evidence suggests the bridge is unsafe.

Synonyms and how they differ

circumstantial evidence

Circumstantial evidence is the legal term and is nearly identical, but it is rarely used outside courtrooms.

inference

An inference is the conclusion drawn from clues, while indirect evidence is the clues themselves.

hearsay

Hearsay is secondhand reports of what someone said, which is a different problem from evidence that is simply not direct.

proxy data

Proxy data is a scientific term for measurements that stand in for something that cannot be measured directly.

Opposites

Word family

evidence noun

facts or signs that show something is true

evident adjective

clearly seen or understood

indirectly adverb

not in a straight or immediate way

evidently adverb

clearly, as far as one can tell

Commonly confused: indirect evidence or direct evidence?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “indirect evidence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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